Drive

Once in a while, a sedan comes along that leaves us to wonder why so many consumers — and a few automakers, too — have abandoned the form in favor of crossovers. The 2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI 2.0T 35th Anniversary Edition, is such a car … though it might benefit from a shorter name. Most of the VW products we’ve … read more

Is Subaru’s latest entry in the hybrid segment, based on the 2019 Crosstrek compact hatchback, more desirable than the conventional Crosstrek? With gasoline prices creeping above $3 a gallon, it just might be. For drivers with relatively short commutes and occasional treacherous weather, the all-wheel-drive Crosstrek Hybrid’s assets make it the Crosstrek of choice. To begin with the math questions, … read more

If we’ve ever driven a quieter, smoother-riding car — sedan or crossover — than the 2019 Lexus RX450hL, its identity has slipped from the old memory bank. Frankly, we didn’t know it was possible to achieve this level of refinement in a vehicle that’s part station wagon and part sport-utility vehicle. Of course, if such a car could be built, … read more

Kia Motors always seems to find a way to build excitement around its compact sedan, the Forte. Apart from its Italian monicker, meaning strong or in music, loud, it has a dose of German DNA thanks to the involvement of former Audi designer Peter Schreyer in its development. The Forte replaced the forgettable Spectra in the 2009 model year and … read more

Hyundai entered the U.S. market as a manufacturer of small, inexpensive, fuel-efficient sedans and hatchbacks. But the South Korean automaker soon jumped aboard the sport-utility bandwagon and has been hugely successful. How successful? Last year, only the compact Elantra line outsold the midsize Santa Fe among Hyundai’s diverse offerings. Hyundai redesigned the Santa Fe for 2019. The changes, while generally … read more

On the broadest scale, sport sedans have come in four international flavors in recent years: from Japan, reliable to a fault but less spirited than those from Germany and Great Britain; and the United States, squarely between the Japanese and German/British benchmarks. And then there’s Italy. Now that Alfa Romeo is back in the picture, having roared back to the … read more

Anyone who remembers driving a 1960s or ’70s Volkswagen Beetle may be surprised to learn the 2019 VW Golf actually has a smaller engine than its revered predecessor. The air-cooled engine that powered the Beetle ranged from 1 liter in pre-war models to 1.6 liters in 1970s. The standard engine in today’s Golf is just 1.4 liters, with a turbocharger. … read more

When we first gazed upon our Galvanic Gold Metallic 2019 BMW X2, we were unexpectedly taken back to our introduction to the Infiniti FX and Toyota Venza a decade and more ago. Both were sport-utility vehicles with all-weather capability; both were stylish in a way other SUVs and crossovers couldn’t match. So it goes with the X2, a stylized version … read more

The midsize sedan remains a drag on many automakers’ balance sheets, as the American love affair with sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks goes on. Yet most automakers continue to place substantial bets on the lowly sedan. During the past year, we’ve driven some of the America’s and Asia’s best medium-priced, midsize sedans, including the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Mazda6, Hyundai … read more

Visiting the rental-car world recently, we learned what “basic” means in today’s parlance. “Basic” used to mean a heater, three-on-the-tree transmission, manual brakes and steering, maybe an AM radio. Of course, our rental car was a Hyundai Elantra, so “basic” included several features that were luxuries not so very long ago. Our gray Elantra SE, fresh off the lot with … read more